Win Streak Likely To Continue For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Deepavali, the Malaysia stock market had finished higher in six straight sessions, gathering more than 70 points or 5.1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,445-point plateau and it's tipped to add to its winnings again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets continues to be upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financials, weakness from the glove makers and mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index added 8.70 points or 0.61 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,446.42 after moving as low as 1,433.26. Volume was 1.991 billion shares worth 1.508 billion ringgit. There were 400 gainers and 388 decliners.

Among the actives, CIMB Group gained 0.55 percent, while Dialog Group surged 2.82 percent, Digi.com soared 2.00 percent, Genting advanced 0.92 percent, Genting Malaysia added 0.77 percent, Hartalega Holdings plunged 2.15 percent, IHH Healthcare retreated 1.48 percent, INARI slumped 0.83 percent, IOI Corporation tumbled 1.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maybank collected 0.70 percent, Maxis jumped 1.43 percent, MISC spiked 1.84 percent, MRDIY lost 0.50 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 1.12 percent, Press Metal perked 0.23 percent, Public Bank rallied 1.35 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.53 percent, Sime Darby Plantations improved 0.45 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.37 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.22 percent, Top Glove dropped 0.68 percent and Axiata, PPB Group and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early directionless trade on Monday but steamed higher in the afternoon to finish firmly in the green.

The Dow soared 417.06 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 31,499.62, while the NASDAQ spiked 92.90 points or 0.86 percent to end at 10,952.61 and the S&P 500 jumped 44.59 points or 1.19 percent to close at 3,797.34.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street partly reflected optimism the Federal Reserve will signal a slowdown in monetary policy tightening following its meeting next week.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points next week, but traders are hopeful the central bank will indicate plans to slow the pace of rates hikes beginning in December.

Crude oil prices moved lower on Monday, giving ground following the advance seen last Friday. The pullback reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for global demand, particularly in China. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell $0.47 or 0.6 percent to $84.58 a barrel.